Happy Friday everyone!

Just a little update on my life.  The new semester has started, and hopefully I will graduate at the end of this one.  I will keep you all posted.

As for the "to be continued" from my last post, I have some great news!  I went to Sephora again today and... they had the Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland pallet!  Yippee!  (happy dance)...  I also purchased a few other things with some of my birthday money.  I will have a haul blog in a day or so, but for now I just wanted to share the great news.

I hope you all have an awesome weekend.  Talk to you soon  ;)   *HUGS*

Mad as a Hatter!

As a few of you possibly know, I have been waiting and waiting for the Alice in Wonderland pallet from Urban Decay to hit stores.  Other bloggers and youtubers (far more popular than I) received the Alice in Wonderland pallet  early, so that they could share their opinions and reviews with the rest of us make-up-aholics.  Well, the reviews I saw only made me want the pallet more and more... I just couldn't take it. I'm sure the lady on the other end of the phone at Sephora was tired of my calls asking if it had come in yet too!  Alas, I still do not have one in my possession, which is a huge birthday disappointment! (Yes my birthday was a few days ago...)  So, to cheer myself up I purchased a small Alice in Wonderland related makeup item.  The OPI Alice in Wonderland Mini Nail Lacquers.  

The colors from left to right are:  Absolutely Alice, Thanks So Muchness!, Off With Her Red!, and Mad as a Hatter.

So far I love all of the colors, but the one which I am particularly excited about is Mad as a Hatter.  The photo above unfortunately does not do it justice.  It has some silver and black in the sparkly polish, but it catches a rainbow of colors to boot!  I think it is a perfect pedicure color!

Although my insanity over the Urban Decay's Alice in Wonderland pallet is slightly subdued by my recent purchase, it is in no way cured...

 to be continued!

Totally Crazy! But hear me out!

Hi girls!  I have a product I want to share with you.  But before I say what it is, I want to say that the first time I heard about using this product I was really skeptical!  But, I saw enough youtube videos, and read a few other blogs and all the girls were saying the same thing.  This product really works.

We’ve all experienced our applied eyeshadow disappearing, creasing, and generally not looking as fresh in the evening as it did when we first applied it in the morning.   In the past, I’ve used Urban Decay’s primer potion to remedy this problem.  It is a great product.  I’m to arguing that it isn’t.  However is it a bit pricy, and the packaging makes it a bit difficult to get the last little bit of the product out. 

So, I tried the product that the other girls were talking about. I was surprised.  It worked so well!  By the end of the day, my eyeshadow still looked as fresh as it did 10 hours before!   

So girls... are you ready to know what it is....

 drum role please...

Monistat Chaffing Relief Powder Gel!  Wait!  Before you think I’ve totally lost it... let me explain...

First, it is not a medication.  There is no medication in the product whatsoever!  The only ingredient in Monistat Chaffing Relief Powder Gel is Dimethicone.

Dimethicone is a non greasy skin protectant which dries to a powdery finish.  It is colorless and odorless.    Although Monistat uses Dimethicone as a solution for chaffing, it is actually used in a wide array of beauty supplies.  According to http://www.cosmeticsinfo.org/ Dimethicone is a silicone based product that is used in many cosmetics, lotions, hair shampoos, as well as other hair supplies.  Dimethicone is used as a hair protectant, skin protectant, hair conditioner, skin conditioner and surface modifier.  

After doing this research I went on a Dimethicone easter egg hunt, and found that it is in my conditioner, a few of my hand lotions and... Lancome La Base Pro Perfecting Makeup Primer!   Oh Yes Ladies! Lancome’s makeup primer at $42.00 a pop consists of two ingredients; Cyclopentasiloxane and Dimethicone Crosspolymer.  So, Dimethicone is already used as a makeup primer by other highly respected cosmetic manufacturers!  

So ladies,  although I love Lancome, in this particular case I can not see my self spending $42.00 for the same ingredient which Monistat sells for $7.50.   If you want your eyeshadow to stay on all day, ignore the name of the product, and try the Monistat Chaffing Relief Powder Gel. Call me crazy if you want, but it really works!

Moroccan Oil

Today I wanted to talk about Moroccan Oil, a new hair treatment that I have been loving.  I have heard mixed reviews about this product, from other blogs, and youtube videos. For the most part, the reviews are positive.  The negative ones that I heard say that this product leaves your hair heavy or greasy.   So, when I purchased a bottle, I got the small one only because if I didn't like it, I didn't waste my money on product I wouldn't use.  Now, I am wishing I had purchased the larger bottle.

I love this product!  It leaves my hair silky and shiny without needing to use a lot of product. Even after straightening my hair, it is still soft, and it does not feel dried out. I've been using this product for about a week, and I really think it has helped the condition of my hair.  

I can understand how people have been saying that this product leaves their hair greasy or heavy. However I think it is because they might be using too much.  I have very long hair, and I use less that a dime sized amount.  I also focus using this product on the ends of my hair and work my way up. I try to avoid the hair closest to my scalp.   A little goes a long way.  

If you have tried this product in the past, and did not like it for the above reasons, I encourage you to try it again. Experiment with the amount you use. You might just be surprised.

Sephora in Warm Tones, and my new all time favorite... Kat Von D!

Hello Ladies :)
I hope the New Year is treating you well, and that you haven't broken your New Year's Resolutions... yet ;)

Today, I wanted to talk about two pallets I got from Sephora around Christmas.   They are the Kat Von D eyeshadow pallet in Beethoven, and the Sephora pallet in warm tones.   First off, lets review the Sephora pallet:

This was one of their products during the Christmas season, and it was priced at only $18.00.  It includes one blush, eight eyeshadows, four lip glosses and a mirror.  For the price, it is a really nice pallet.  The colors are pigmented well, the glosses are not sticky.  (I'm not a big fan of sticky lip glosses.)

The top row of eyeshadows are what I used the most during the holidays.  The colors remind me of the Body Shop Shimmer Cube Pallet in #06, but are slightly richer and more vibrant.   I've used most everything in the pallet except the two glosses on the far right, and I am pleased with their quality.

Although the pallet is great, I find my self gravitating to the eyeshadows the most.  The blush and the glosses are nice and will be used, but are not my favorite part of the pallet.  What's nice about this pallet is that it is compact, making it a perfect all-in-one makeup pallet for traveling.

And now on to a new favorite... the Kat Von D eyeshadow pallet in Beethoven!!!

This pallet is a dream!  I absolutely love all the colors! They are super pigmented and easy to blend. Dare I say these eyeshadows are comparable to MAC eyeshadow quality, but less expensive.

The whole pallet comes with eight shadows.  Each individual shadow is 0.05 oz.  (So that is a total of 0.4 oz of total product) The Kat Von D pallet costs $34.00. That is an amazing deal for the amount of product you get, and in such beautiful colors too.   To get the equivalent amount of product in MAC would be slightly pricier...

The Kat Von D pallets also comes with two little brushes. Although they are cute, they are very small and not too useful.  They are almost not necessary.   With that being said, this product is a favorite of mine.  I will definitely be purchasing the other eyeshadow pallets soon!  I can't express how excited I am about this product.  Girls, you just have to try it!

That's all for now :)  Have a beautiful day!

Review of Sephora's glitter eyeshadow applicator.

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope you all enjoyed yourselves, and had fun last night.

As promised, I wanted to give you a review of the glitter eyeshadow applicator I purchased from Sephora. 

The label states that it helps prevent glitter from falling where it is not wanted while applying it to the lid.   Regular brushes supposedly create more fallout, while this silicone applicator holds the glitter until it adheres to the eyelid.
To test it, I chose one of my favorite holiday eyeshadows: Urban Decay's Midnight Coyboy Rides Again. Although I love this shadow, I tend to struggle with it because there is usually a TON of glitter fallout.

Usually, I apply this eyeshadow with my ring finger and press in into my lid.  I have never been able to successfully use a brush with this eyeshadow without getting glitter on my cheeks as well.  This was a true test for Sephora's silicone applicator.

I was pleasantly surprised with the results.  It does lessen the amount of glitter fallout. Dare I say it is comparable to the amount of fallout I get when using my ring finger to apply the shadow.  Although the fallout is less than a traditional brush, and a bit more sanitary than using my finger, there is a down side to this brush.  I found it takes a few more layers of shadow to build up the same payoff of color and sparkle when using the brush instead of applying it with my finger. (I was able to finally get the same look, it just took a bit longer in the application process).  For a more subtle sparkle this brush is absolutely perfect!

Overall I am happy with the brush... and at only $13.00 why not?